CMCT 6100: Theoretical Approaches to Media and Culture For Markus Reisenleitner By Cheryl Williams Capitalism, Consumers and

Cattle: Investigating How to Study Promotional Culture I dont mean to boast (!) but, I come from a long line of cow farmers. In the 1830s my great-great-great-grandfather John Stinson was granted 150 acres of Ottawa wilderness by the crown of England and he and his 9 children cleared it by hand. (In fact, Stinson Avenue in Nepean is the site of my familys original farm.) Next the land passed on to my greatgreat grandfather who continued to clear the land and raise dairy cattle with his wife and 14 children. A century later, my grandfather purchased a single bull from the Ottawa experimental farm and used it to breed a heard of prizewinning dairy cattle that were recognized as the most productive heard in eastern Ontario. Most of these ancestors were completely illiterate and, in fact, I am the first person from this side of my family to attend university. Supposedly a natural affinity for cattle farming is in my blood but Ive never had the opportunity to make use of this genetic advantage - until graduate school. Contrary to what you may be thinking, this final response is not about memory, home or space. Rather, it is about brands. The age old practice of branding may have begun as a system of distinguishing cattle but it has now evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry employing roughly 1 million workers in the US alone (cited in Davis 2006, 149). And we consumers, like cattle, not only adorn ourselves with the marks of our preferred brands but we blindly follow their commands as we are herded into malls and milked dry of our cash and credit.

Although I havent yet settled on a clear argument for my MA thesis, my research interests focus on the cultural effects of branding, advertising and promotion. What role do brands and promotional culture play in shaping contemporary cultural ideology, individual identity, and power flows? What other social and cultural impacts can be attributed to the rise of brands and advertising? In this final response I will specifically employ Coward and Elliss (1977) Marxist approach, Probyns (2000) exploration of food and global politics, and Lash and Urrys (1994) postmodern economic approach as theoretical frameworks within which to investigate promotional culture. Before I begin my analysis, I will define a few key terms to provide clarification on concepts that can be defined differently across disciplines. The term brand is particularly nebulous and even scholars admit to difficulty pinning down a definition. According to Barbara Stern, a brand can be conceived as a corporate entity, a public perception, a repository of information, a financial outcome, or perhaps all at once(Stern 2006, 217) . In this response I use the term brand to refer to a corporation with a highly recognizable name and logo, and an associated reputation. This is distinct from the term branding, which is a tool brands use to infuse products with creative and informational value to differentiate between goods that are essentially all the same. I employ the term promotional culture to describe the output and activities of the marketing, advertising and public relations industries (see Davis 2006, 150). It is important to note that advertising is just one of the three activities encompassed by promotional culture, but as it relates most closely to media studies, it is often singled out as a practice. The term promotional culture is

more useful than the phrases used in our readings (creative industries, cultural industries and creative economies) in that, as I intend to show in my MA research, all industries can be described as creative and cultural. Marxism- Coward and Ellis (1977) The first perspective I will explore is Marxist theory based on chapter 5 of Language and Materialism (Coward and Ellis 1977, 6192). Coward and Ellis point out a contradiction within Marxism regarding the role of the subject: if the individual is formed out of ideology (structuralism), how can the individual also have the ability to effect change (humanism)? They solve this problem by applying psychoanalytic theory regarding the formation of the subject to Marxist thought. Within this argument, Coward and Ellis outline key Marxist concepts including the role of ideology, economic determinism, and the class system in shaping culture. How does Marxist theory provide insight for critical study of promotional culture and how can it be applied to my research? While Coward and Ellis main argument regarding the formation of the individual may not be the most useful framework from which to explore advertising and promotional culture, their statements regarding key Marxist concepts, such as ideology, have interesting applications. Essentially, advertising is the language of ideology. According to Coward and Ellis it does not appear that ideology is the production of representations (ideas and positions) in social practice. It appears as certain natural ideas, a certain horizon, an ordinary way of thinking, common sense (Coward and Ellis 1977, 67). In other words, society is so controlled by dominant ideology

that we just accept it as the way things are. In the same way, our daily lives are so saturated by promotional culture that we dont even realize we are being advertised to thousands of times per day. We accept it as completely natural that television and radio programming are punctuated with ads. We expect that accessing a web service for free we will result in a major portion of the page being taken over by clickable images that conveniently whisk us away from the task at hand and deposit us directly in advertisers shopping carts. As with ideology, consumers are almost powerless against marketing messages. Brands create needs that we werent even aware we had, yet we accept these new needs as completely ordinary so that following advertisers directives is simply common sense. When examining Marxist notions of determinism in reproducing society, it is evident that promotion and determinism operate on the same premise. Coward and Ellis quote Engels on determinism: the ultimately determining element in history is the production and reproduction of real life (Coward and Ellis 1977, 69). Advertising is predicated on reproduction and representation. Brands use advertising to portray real life images of real life consumers whose lives have benefitted greatly from purchasing their products. Promotion and capitalism are so intricately linked that advertising could not exist without capitalism and capitalism could not function without advertising. Brands use promotion tactics such as advertising to increase demand for their products in order to maximize profit and generate surplus value. Consumers are not given a share of this

surplus value; instead brands invest it in more advertising to begin the profit cycle all over again. Also, ad space is a purchased commodity. Publishers sell this commodity to increase revenues of their publications. In fact, publications (magazines, televisions channels, blogs, news programs etc.) are strategically created to attract a specific demographic that advertisers want to target. Cigar Aficionado was not created out of love for cigars (nor the weather channel out of love for weather) but rather so that advertisers could reach a specific demographic interested in cigars and, by extension, high-ticket purchases, lifestyle products, travel, and the arts. Without capitalism, promotion isnt necessary. Consider communist Cuba where streets and public squares are completely devoid of advertising so that, despite the busy hustle of locals going about their daily activities, travelers are immediately aware that something is missing. Yet Cuba still manages to sell cigars. In keeping with Marxism, promotional culture functions as a two class system in which brands (bourgeoisie) exert their influence over passive, accommodating consumers (proletariat). Coward and Ellis explain that [ideology] is thus an active part of social relations since it creates their intelligibility, an intelligibility which in a capitalist society tends to serve the interest of one class(Coward and Ellis 1977, 68). The ideology of the promotional system works to the benefit of brands and to the detriment of consumers. As brands build profits, consumers accumulate debt. Consumers spread awareness of brands through word of mouth, product reviews, social media shares, and simply by displaying brand logos on clothing, electronics and cars. Brands benefit financially from this free

labour yet consumers unquestioningly give this valuable material away for free. After all, why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? Finally I would like to return to a point I brought up in my week 3 reading response. When viewed from an Althussarian perspective, the mass media could be considered one of the most dominant Ideological State Apparatuses in western society. The mass media are a tool at the disposal of brands to effectively communicate and subtly reinforce capitalist ideology. In the same way Marxs bourgeoisie control the means of production, brands use the mass media to filter and manipulate the information that makes its way to consumers. Perhaps promotional culture is even more powerful than bourgeoisie control because consumers generally dont even realize this manipulation is taking place. It has essentially become, to use Marxs phrase, just the way things are. Food Politics Probyn (2000) Next, I will employ chapter 2 from Elspeth Probyns Carnal Appetites: FoodSexIdentities (2000, 3367) as a second perspective from which to engage in a critical study of brand practices and promotional culture. Probyn examines how global consumer culture is re-shaping our relationships with food and family. In a world that is increasingly disconnected and artificial, the family meal represents togetherness, familiarity and comfort. McDonalds capitalizes on this by promoting the image of the global family united as one around a Big Mac. According to Probyn McDonalds has turned the idea of the family that eats together into a complex articulation of a global family, extending an ethics of care into the realm of global capitalism, and creating its customer as a globalised

familial citizen (Probyn 2000, 35). In other words, MacDonalds would have us believe they dont produce Big Macs to increase profits, but rather because they are responsible stewards of the worlds resources, families and children. McDonalds teaches us that they care about families, and that they are doing their part to bring families back together with face-to-face conversation shared over a hearty (pre-packaged, highly processed) family meal. Probyns examination of McDonalds marketing tactics provides an interesting perspective from which to study brands and promotional culture. I conducted some background research on McDonalds and found that the fast food chain ranks 6th on the
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2011 rankings of the Best Global Brands report yet it ranks 45th in the Best Global Green Brands report (Interbrand 2011b, 19). McDonalds is estimated to spend $1.2 billion annually on advertising in the US alone (Bryson York 2010) which breaks down to approximately $4 for every American. And lets not forget promotional tactics outside of advertising such as merchandising: McDonald's is the world's largest distributor of toys, with one included in 20% of all sales (Lubin and Badkar 2010). Probyns investigation into the political aspects of brand/consumer relations sheds light on the ulterior motives of branded advertisements. Instead of simply promoting their products, McDonalds employs advertising as a tool for image politics and reputation management. Interestingly, a former Ronald McDonald mascot likens McDonalds marketing materials to Nazi propaganda. While this statement may be a stretch, McDonalds tactics are unquestionably biased and designed to influence consumer opinion.

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This study WHICH (CLARIFY) is also useful for examining how brands employ sophisticated symbols and carefully constructed representations to associate their products with wholesome qualities and good values. By incorporating Olympic logos in Big Mac ads, McDonalds products are associated with health, dedication and triumph. In the same way, the image of french fries in Red Square suggests McDonalds role in breaking down communism, uniting disparate cultures, and effectively contributing to world peace. This provides insight into the power of semiotics in shaping human perception and behviour. Interestingly, McDonalds golden arches are the most recognized symbol in the world. An international research study found that 88% of respondents could identify the golden arches, but only 54% could identify the Christian cross (Lubin and Badkar 2010). McDonalds consistently uses the colours red, yellow and green in their ads. Red suggests the heart, kinship and family; green suggests environmentalism and eco-concern; while yellow indicates sunshine, happiness and of course, the golden arches. Perhaps the most troubling element of this technique is the fact that most people dont even realize when this symbolic mind control is taking place. McDonalds approach is working. Interbrands Best Global Green Brands Report 2011 shows that McDonalds ranks much higher in public perception of sustainability than in their actual performance ranking (Interbrand 2011a). This suggests that McDonalds promotional tools have successfully used text and symbols to portray a carefully constructed image that has worked to actually affect public perception of the brand.

While ads may appear to reflect traditional cultural practice, brands are actually trying to shape it. McDonalds suggests that enjoying a family meal together, away from the distractions of home (including TV, computers and video games), will bring the family back together. However, McDonalds real aim is to bring families back into their restaurants by telling us who we should care for and how we can show it; what we should feed our bodies; and where, when, and how to eat. Ads portray attractive, happy, nuclear families that create in consumers a desire to follow suit so that real families can join in on the fun just like on TV. Unfortunately, Probyn limits her study to television commercials and does not investigate how (or if) the Its Mac Time campaign was integrated across marketing channels including outdoor, print, online and merchandising. A cross-channel analysis would provide insight into the audience demographic the Mac Time campaign was targeting. We dont know which channels or time slots the television commercials aired in but we can assume that, generally, the television audience is less educated, more sedentary, and covers a broader range of age groups than other marketing channels. This suggests that McDonalds is strategic in selecting the consumers who are most receptive to, or influenced by, their messaging. Similarly, the television medium allows customers to be more emotionally and affectively influenced unlike online advertising which engages more with cognitive and rational thought processes.

Economic Postmodernism Lash and Urry (1994) This brings me to postmodern economic theory, the third and final theoretical approach from which I will analyze brands and promotional culture. In chapter 5 of Economies of Signs and Space, Lash and Urry (1994, 111144) investigate long term trends in the economy and identify how these trends are shaping, or being shaped by, modern culture. While others have used the terms postmodernism and post-Fordism, Lash and Urry employ the term reflexive modernization to more accurately describe the transition from production-based economic value to knowledge-based value. They contend that the main cultural shift contributing to reflexive modernization was the rise of individualism and human agency and the resulting breakdown of traditional vertical structures. Social factors such as family and class were once the most influential forces on individuals, but they have been replaced by more fluid information and communication networks. For example, rigid class distinctions delineated clear boundaries between high and low culture in the nineteenth century. This rigid class structure began to crumble in the late twentieth century under pressure from humanist and individualist forces which resulted in the emergence of mass audiences and, more importantly for brands, mass consumption. At this point the Fordist economy was already churning out mass products in the most efficient manner possible so brands sought to increase profit by infusing creative-, information- and knowledge-value into their products.

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According to Lash and Urry, the cultural industry pioneered this shift of focus from production (e.g., manufacturing CDs) to controlling intellectual property rights (e.g., longterm contracts with artists) through advertising. While the culture industries continued to produce objects, these objects were transformed into intellectual property through branding and advertising. Lash and Urry conclude that advertising shifted from a business service to a culture industry: Advertising in effect evolved from a free-professional type business service to, in Fordism, an industry and, in post-Fordism, to a fully fledged culture industry (Lash and Urry 1994, 139). Lash and Urrys theory provides a detailed and insightful explanation of the economic factors responsible for the meteoric rise of brands and advertising. However, I find it problematic that Lash and Urry use the term culture industries when studying the relationship between industry and culture. All industries shape culture. In this sense culture industries does not accurately distinguish the entertainment/creative industries from any other industry. If all industries shape culture, the culture in culture industries is redundant. Similarly, Lash and Urry assume that only the creative/aesthetic (a.k.a. culture) industries operate on symbols. Again, all industries operate on symbols. Branding takes a product that is only marginally different from the competitors product and uses representative symbols to form associations with that product (see section on McDonalds above). Lash and Urrys assertions provide a useful starting point for further investigation into the cultural impacts of branding and promotion. For instance, if humans have been

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reduced to products (e.g., Michael Jackson is the brand, not the record label) what are the cultural implications? Are celebrities simply commodities to be bought and sold? Can the same be said for information workers? If so, how does this affect cultural issues including identity, power, and social relations? Is this transformation of workers into commodities simply a modernized version of human trafficking or the slave trade? Second, the logic of Lash and Urrys argument suggests that humanism caused the rise of mass audiences and the resulting rise of consumerism. Does that mean humanism is a negative force and that society was better off when individuals were controlled by family and class structures? Given the negative effects of consumerism (credit card debt, commodity fetishism and the constant need for more) is the individual better off now, or before reflexive modernization? While answering these questions is outside the scope of this final response, Lash and Urry raise several issues that could prove interesting for further study in a research paper. Conclusion Marxism, food politics and economic postmodernism are useful theoretical frameworks in which to investigate promotional culture. While Marxist theory draws attention to issues regarding power and control, a study of food politics gives insight into the political motives entrenched in private promotional practices. Finally postmodern economic theory provides an interesting explanation for the rise of promotional culture. However, Lash and Urry do not make any effort to point out the negative aspects of the increased role of branding. If one considers brand dominance to be a negative development, then logically it could be overturned by reversing the trends that created it.

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Lash and Urrry contend that brands achieved dominance as a result of weakened class structure and increasing human agency, so does this mean the problem should be fixed by decreasing the power of the individual and returning to more traditional forms of domination? I am sure Lash and Urry would not advocate this approach. What is the role of the consumer in the brand/consumer relationship? While Probyn suggests that humans are capable of making informed decisions and responsible choices (but dont always do so), Marxism suggests humans are powerless in the face of the determinist forces of capitalism. On the other hand, a critical analysis of Lash and Urry suggests that we have simply exchanged old forms of domination (the class system, patriarchy and religion) for a new one (consumerism). When promotion is viewed as a capitalist, political, and economic tool, it sheds light on the methods brands use to cow consumers into docile obedience. Advertisements spur us into checkout lines like a red flag waved at a bull and every consumer is a literal cash cow lining the pockets of the brands we wear. My grandfather used to say you cant hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle! But through the magic of marketing and bullshit of branding, promotional tactics turn that bass fiddle into the exact product we didnt even know we wanted.

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Bibliography Bryson York, Emily. 2010. Fast Food: The (Burger) World Is Not Enough for McDonalds, June 28. Coward, Rosalind, and John Ellis. 1977. Language and Materialism : Developments in Semiology and the Theory of the Subject. London; Boston: Routledge and Paul. Davis, Aeron. 2006. Placing Promotional Culture. In Media and Cultural Theory, ed. David Morley and James Curran. London: Routledge. Interbrand. 2011a. Best Global Green Brands Report 2011. . 2011b. Best Global Brands Report 2011. Lash, Scott, and John Urry. 1994. Economies of Signs and Space. London; Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage. Lubin, Gus, and Mamta Badkar. 2010. 15 Facts About McDonalds That Will Blow Your Mind. Business Insider, December 17. Probyn, Elspeth. 2000. Carnal Appetites: FoodSexIdentities. London; New York: Routledge. Stern, Barbara B. 2006. What Does Brand Mean? Historical-Analysis Method and Construct Definition. Academy of Marketing Science. Journal 34 (2): 216223.

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